Question 1

Finances: diversify your business assets

Accepted Answer

Your business takes up a significant amount of your time, so your personal assets might not get the attention they deserve.

On top of that, your business resources are likely to form the lion's share of your assets, meaning the performance of your business has a direct impact on your family. With the right financial structure, you can diversify both your personal and business assets.

Having the correct financial structure will enable you to diversify both your personal and business assets.

Did you know that:

you can transfer your business to the next generation in a tax-efficient way?
you can finance a takeover by your successors through your company?
it's still possible to take cash out of your company in a tax-efficient way

Question 2

Estate planning and transfer: don't delay

Accepted Answer

Sooner or later, you'll have to face it: you're going to have to transfer your business. Make sure you're ready when the time comes by planning ahead now! A poorly executed and rushed transfer can have serious consequences for your business and family.

Here are a few of the things to think about:

When is the best time to transfer your business?
Are there any suitable candidates in my family who are able and willing to take over the business?
Can I gift the business now (in a tax-efficient way) while still retaining operational control?
Should I appoint an external manager, with my family taking a non-operational role?
Would it be better to sell my company?

Question 3

Family Governance, a competitive advantage

Accepted Answer

When we think about governance, we often only think about shareholder and management structures. But doing so overlooks one of the biggest competitive advantages of your business: your family.

Anyone developing a long-term vision has to look beyond creating added value for shareholders. It's essential to focus on the role of your family, as these are the people who will preserve your corporate culture for generations (and CEO's) to come.

Are you making the most of the tools available to you?

The family charter as a guide for setting the company's vision, rules and agreements in stone for good and bad days to come.
The family forum as a communication platform to get different generations pulling in the same direction.
The family council as a communication platform between the family, the board of directors and management.

Make sure your strongest point doesn't become your Achilles heel, start setting up the right family structures for you and your loved ones now!

Question 4

Corporate Governance: get the most out of your structure.

Accepted Answer

If you're aiming to make your business flourish and ensure it can be transferred to the next generation as smoothly as possible, you need to develop the right organisational structures today!

We spend a lot of time pondering how to manage our businesses, but do we spend enough time thinking about who will be managing them in future?
The long-term vision of family shareholders is often cited to be the ultimate competitive advantage of family businesses. Are you making the most of this advantage?
We're doing everything we can to prepare our businesses for our successors. But are our successors themselves sufficiently prepared?
Are we providing enough guidance to our successors in their future roles? Does your business need an advisory board?